Blog
When I was a cop, I never liked getting a radio call to break up a bar fight. Bar fights made no sense because all the involved parties were drunk. In their state of intoxication, they abandoned good sense and began to randomly throw punches. When the fight was broken...
When Jan and I lived in Berlin, Germany, we would occasionally visit museums. One museum display was especially interesting. It was the Ishtar Gate of the ancient city of Babylon displayed at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. As I stood before the display, I couldn’t...
Last night, I had a very clear dream. I was asked to speak at a moderately sized Church. The room was only partially filled. The pastor was not present neither was the worship team. It was all on me. I’ve led worship as a young first-time pastor ministering to less...
In the classic western, Tombstone, Wyatt Earp played by actor Kurt Russell, walks into a bar that used to have more business and a gentrified clientele to see it virtually empty and barely surviving. Customers had been chased off by a bully who sat each day at a card...
Scripture tells us that mercy triumphs over judgment. We typically think that instruction is for us on how we are to conduct our lives. That is true, but it has another meaning. It is the revelation of how God relates to humanity. In a single moment of time He could...
Your loudest critics have been positioned at the doorway of your future. Many have stalled at this noisy threshold not because they weren't gifted to function in the future. They stalled because they were unable to handle their critics with wisdom and grace. The...
This morning, I am waiting at a car dealership to get our car serviced. While waiting, I went to use the restroom. Once inside, I realized the familiar male-oriented fixtures were not present. In the one tenth of a second it took me to realize my error, I flew out of...
I have noticed people like to get close to those in places of power and notoriety hoping that proximity will give them a similar power, leverage or an impression they are somehow on the inside. I know this because like most of you reading these words we have all done...
Sometimes, we make sacrifices on altars that do not exist. We can make a sacrifice when a blessing was God’s actual intent. Some of us need to be set free from thinking our entire experience with God is a sacrifice. Life does include sacrifice, but Jesus came and made...
On a recent ministry trip, I stayed in a not-so-great motel. It was out in the middle of nowhere. Things didn’t work in the room. The bed sheets looked like they were used the night before by another guest and had not been changed. It is the kind of room where you...
For my prophetic friends, Jan just sent this blessing to me that is part of a book of blessings she is writing. Read this and then listen to what the Lord is saying. When you hear His word, step forward and speak with a boldness and courage forged by integrity and...
My daughter, Anna, was rummaging through some old clothes kept in storage and came across a karate gi (uniform) that I wore as a young 20-something when I trained at the historic Pacific Judo Academy in San Jose, California under the legendary Sensei, Bill...
You may feel disconnected from what you have known and even disconnected from the voice of God. There is a solution to that dilemma. The connection you desire is not always one you can make on your own. At some point in our lives, all of us will need to ask for...
This morning, Jan shared a dream with me she had last night. In the dream, we were running and laughing with joy across a frozen lake. As soon as Jan finished describing the dream, I saw something in the Spirit. Some of you are facing an impossible...
Yesterday, I received an early Father’s Day gift from my daughter, Anna. It was a mortar and pestle from Bali. Since I enjoy cooking this gift really blessed me. In the bowl of the mortar shown in the photograph are the herbs, garlic cloves and olive oil that I would...